Application of engineering methods in the planning process of surgical treatments

<jats:p>The continuous development of medical methods in recent decades has achieved measurable improvement. The interdisciplinary cooperation of engineers and physicians is a forward-looking component of this development. However, this cooperation also results in new interfaces on the communication and software level, which must be defined by implementing a systematic workflow. In this paper, the step-by-step implementation of engineering methods into the surgical workflow is shown. The focus is on the basic requirements and the necessary exchange of information. Additively manufactured models for preoperative elucidation of the patient are used as a psychological added value to increase the transparency of the surgical procedure. In addition, the models serve to train young surgeons and provide the opportunity to plan advanced surgical techniques.</jats:p>